A Night Away From It All

So last night, John and I decided it would be a good idea to go out to his camp...or for you others out there "Cottage".

He raves and raves about his camp all the time but I've never been there. Well, last night that finally changed and what a beautiful night it was.

We got there and he started barbequing sausages which were so good!

And then we went down by the lake where we read our books just enjoying the quiet and refreshing air.

Then we took a Sauna which was very much needed and afterwards had a bright idea to jump in the lake where the ICE ONLY MELTED OFF JUST DAYS BEFORE! Terrible idea. You can imagine how fast we jumped back in the Sauna after...

And then we went back inside (it was getting dark out) and read inside his beautiful camp.

It was such a great night and we're going back Sunday because his Sister is in town (whom I've never met). So I'm really excited for that!

I even had to PEE in a little POT at night time because it would have been too much of a hassle to go out to the outhouse (which was very glam by the way! haha) But it's Whatevs. I'm rugged.


Hopefully we'll have more mini camp vacay's soon and often! :)

Off to Camp

Me and my Boyfriend are both sick so we're going off to his camp tonight to have a Sauna and in general, some R & R!

I definitely need this country outing as I haven't been feeling myself lately.

Tomorrow is a camp night too which will be fun and like I said, very much needed.

This is actually a picture of my friend Tamara's camp where I'm going tomorrow night.

I don't have much to say right now.

But I can say that I'm extremely tired (like I've already closed my eyes sitting at my desk) and pretty sure I have a stupid cold!

Great.

I better be better in time for my busy weekend I have ahead of me.

Ugh!

Sunny Weekend

Summer has finally showed up in my little town of Thunder Bay!

The weekend has come and gone but what a lovely little weekend it was!

Friday night I went and saw Comic Idol which was (mildly) entertaining. I was more so laughing at all the busts who went up. But there were people who I really appreciated them getting the guts up there and put on a good act!

Saturday had lunch with John and then we went shopping to find a dress for the wedding we are going to this weekend. No luck. I don't want to talk about it.

And then me and John just sat outside and talked. It was LOVELY.

Then Saturday night, I went to my friend Nikki's birthday party followed by seeing "Bridesmaids" with my good friend Holly. It was lovely!

Sunday, me and John layed around outside and collected some much needed UV Rays while reading and BBQing. When I say "we" barbequed I mean, HE barbequed. He is amazing at cooking. I'm not gonna lie. I'm craving the meal that we had last night again.

Then we watched the hockey game together and VANCOUVER WON!

It was a really great weekend. This weekend is going to be another great one! I'm so looking forward to the sunshine and outdoors!

Weekly Gratitude: Friday the 13th.

Happy Friday to all you lovelies out there!


How cute is my dog?

• I'm definitely thankful for that little ball of fat you see at the top of this post.
• I was not thankful for dropping my Frapp all over the top of the stairs at work today HOWEVER I was thankful for the help that I received from Kelly at work and for the new Frapp that I got as a gift from the Frapp Fairy....aka John. :)
• I'm thankful for my celebratory dinner from John last night for my new job. We went to a Steakhouse that I've never been to before and oh my gosh it was so good. I had chicken and ribs and then we had a Skor Cheesecake after. So good!
• I'm thankful for Wendy's Chicken Caeser Salads
• And I'm thankful that I've been given a chance to be an Announcer at work. Definitely a step in the right direction for me!

Have a great weekend everyone.

“…I might be the only one who appreciates how amazing you are in every single thing that you do, and … I watch them, wondering how they can watch you bring their food, and clear their tables and never get that they just met the greatest woman alive. And the fact that I get it makes me feel good, about me.”



—Melvin (Jack Nicholson) to Carol (Helen Hunt) in As Good as it Gets

Movin' Up In The World!

Wait...who's a radio announcer?? ME? JESSICA?

You would guess correct!!!

I just got a job covering a Maternity Leave (while I remain here still writing in Creative) Announcing for a Radio Station!!!

I've always wanted to be an On-Air Personality and this is such a great foot in the door!

Wish me luck :D!

Inspirational Wednesday's

Some Neat things I found that really caught my attention:


1. Places I'd like to see that seem like a Fairytale

Colmar, France



Faroe Islands (Halfway between Iceland and Norway)



*Images from this Travel Blog.

2. Nice Quotes in Pictures

*Images from this photo collection.

3. A Part of a book that I've never heard of before...but the writing moved me. Take a look it's from THIS site. It's called " I was trying to describe to you someone " ... It's really nice please go read it.


I got all of this from a fabulous website called http://www.stumbleupon.com/  . You really "Stumble Upon" some of the most fascinating pages. Some are just so inspiring!

Recipe: Bow-Tie Asparagus Pasta

 *Courtesy of Kraft Recipes

So last night after the gym, I really wanted to eat something delicious and satisfying. So I did some research and something relatively simple to make and I found this recipe. And LET ME TELL YOU, it turned out to be probably one of the best pasta's I've ever eaten. If you don't like RICH sauces then STEER CLEAR. But definitely give it a go! SO GOOD!

What you'll need:
Julienne Cut Sun Dried Tomatoes
Cream Cheese (2 OZ)
Chicken Broth (1/2 cup)
1-2 INCH Cut Asparagus
Half Sliced Orange Peppers
Bow Tie Pasta
Kraft Shredded 3 Cheese
Oregeno (1 TBSP)
(Add in desired amounts of each. You don't need much cream cheese or chicken broth...but I've provided how much I used for about 2 servings)

1. So first what you are going to do is you are going to obviously boil your water for the pasta. Don't add salt as the asparagus that will later be added in makes up for that.

2. While your water boils, cut up your Asparagus and orange peppers. Also have your Julienne cut Sun Dried Tomatoes ready.

3. Once your water boils add the pasta in. Boil to desired tenderness BUT IN THE LAST 2 MINUTES add in your chopped asparagus.

4. While your pasta is cooking, put your orange peppers and sundried tomatoes in the frying pan. Pour some of the tomato oil from the jar if you'd like. Fry until crisp or for about 3 minutes.

5. When your pasta is done, drain, and then put in frying pan with the veggies. Also add in your chicken broth, oregeno and cream cheese to make the sauce.

6. Fry and stir for about 5 minutes.

7. Add on cheese and cook until melted (or 2-3 minutes).

 8. Eat one of the best pasta's you will EVER enjoy! I GUARANTEE IT!

HAPPY COOKING!

EVERYBODY: stop what you are doing and...

Check out this amazing website.

I heard of it through Camilla's blog and sometimes when I don't have much to do at work I try and look for new websites.

Well this website directs you to EVERYTHING that interests you. You wanna know how? You check off all your interests and press "stumble" and it directs you to all these different pages that are just SO neat!

For example CLICK HERE for a really cool page on music to "lie on your bed and stare at the ceiling" to. So cool!

Here is the link for the STUMBLE UPON website: http://www.stumbleupon.com/

Erica's Bridal Shower

This past Saturday it was my friend, Erica's Bridal Shower!



The Beautiful Bride!


It was a few hours full of games, food, friends and fun!



Me and Erica


At the beginning of the Shower, each of the guests had to take a clothes pin and put them on their collar. Throughout, we weren't allowed to say the words, "Erica" "Kurtis" "Bride" "Groom" or "Wedding" and if we did and someone heard us, they could take our clothes pin. At the end, whoever had the most clothes pins won. Let's just say I was a loser. I had no clothes pins at the end.

Another fun game we played was the Toilet Paper Wedding Dress game. We had to go into groups and in each group we had to pick a bride. We were given 5 rolls of toilet paper and we had to create a wedding dress. The best dress won. I was a bride and I did not win.




My Expensive Wedding Dress!

The food wasn't the greatest. It was a lot of seafood. But if the Bride was happy, I was happy! :)

It was a very nice day and I wish all the best to Erica and Kurtis. Erica you are going to make a beautiful, beautiful bride! I can't wait for your wedding! :)



Us with the Bride!



Just a Couple of Canuck Fans!

 Was NOT ready for this pic! Haha!

 That's better!!

Kesler and Luongo all the way!!!
Alex Burrows is missing from this pic tho. He's also great.

Have a fantastic weekend!

Friday

Let's all just take a minute to celebrate what day it is.

Weekly Gratitude: May 6th.

So this week was one of mixed emotions.

Some good things happened. Some not so good things happened.

But you know what?

It's always nice to look at all the positives of the week!

Here we go:

• There were some barriers regarding the Taylor Swift concert but I perservered in my plan. No matter what, I am going and it is going to be a blast no matter what! I've never been so excited for anything!
• One more win in the Vancouver vs. Nashville series!!!! Come on Vancouver! I'm bored of Nashville! Let's beat one more game so we can move on in the Playoffs!
• My T-Shirts that I bought for John and I! The Jersey order I made for a Vancouver Kesler and Luongo jerseys didn't go through. So instead I bought the ONLY TWO customized t shirts at Jersey City entitled none other than... KESLER AND LUONGO! Fate? I think so.
• Thanks to Vampire Diaries! Holy man! People can make fun all they want but I honestly don't believe there is a more attention catching, brain drawing, heart stopping, intensified television show! So good!
• Thank you to my Mom's delicious porkchop recipe. If you like spices, you will LOVE these porkchops. Maybe one day I'll post a recipe.
• Thank you to my motivation! Can you believe I've been exercising for 4 months now? I've definitely noticed a change in my body.

Anyway, this weekend is going to be a good one.

I'll be sure to explain it all to you on Monday!

Happy Friday, Friday Gotta get down on Friday!

Lifestyle Thursdays: Dresses to Wear to a Wedding

Ugh! How much do you love these dresses?

They are both from Le Chateau.
I'm trying to find a dress to wear to a wedding I have coming up.
Let's just say I'm having a lot of trouble.
I prefer the first dress but I don't know if i want to wear a dress that is so long like that.

Decisions, decisions.

Do you think absence makes the heart grow fonder?

Taylor Swift: I Love This Picture!

How beautiful is this picture?

I love it so much.

41 more days!!!!! AHHHH!

Inspirational Wednesdays: Forgiveness

I think it's one of the most honest statements when it is said that "Friends really do drift apart".

But does that mean that you can't be civil with them when you speak to eachother?

Or does that mean that you don't consider them someone to be dear to your heart anymore?

Recently, I had a friend who wasn't very happy with me and I think it was mostly based on the fact that we no longer spent much time together. But I still really liked her. I didn't have any negative feelings towards her.

And then one day, she just snapped on me and said some hurtful things.

But did I deserve it?

I'm not quite sure what the answer to that is but obviously I had hurt her and that alone is enough for me to make me feel bad.

We hadn't spoken in months and regarding a few different incidents' that have happened lately, I really wanted to talk to her and apologize to her.

I just don't think it's worth it to have bad air between someone who really means something to you.

So I sent her a text (yeah,  yeah, I know, think what you will) and apologized. I never meant to hurt her! I didn't want that!

She forgave me, you know.

She explained why she said the things she said and how she was sorry and that we are fine and we are good and we are happy.

And I couldn't be more thankful because she really is someone I keep close to my heart. She really is one of the better apples who always mean well.

I'll always consider her my friend and maybe one day she'll read this and know that I really am telling the truth and that I really will always consider her one of my "BFFs".

Meet my dog, Walter.

Walter is a pug. An overweight pug.
He likes to run around the house and grab objects that don't belong with him. After that, he proceeds to make sure you know he has it so you will chase him.
And then, when he's REALLY hyper, he likes to dig his face into the ground and spin around in circles.
He also always has to be touching somebody, so you will often find him snuggled up to a human being when he's feeling tired.

Isn't he cute?

He's my baby and I love him so much!

Taylor Swift Concert: Next Month!

I can't WAIT for this.
Unfortunately, there was some road blocks.
Tamara can't get the time off for her new job. Which is understandable but definitely disappointing.
So instead, John offered to take me and my sister to Minneapolis and during the concert he'll just do his own thing.
Tamara's sister, Amanda offered for us to still go together but this is every bit of Jill's special trip as it is mine, so I don't think that would be very fun for her. I think she'd be more comfortable going with people she knows.
And when the time comes, me and John will make sure she has an amazing time!

It's going to be a Sparks Fly type of concert!!!!!!